Second Annual Workshop Held at UBC

Over 60 attendees from academia, governments, funding agencies and industries of Canada and China got together to exchange knowledge, share insights of bioenergy field, and discuss the Centre’s development for the next year.

The Workshop was opened by the Centre’s Director Prof. Xiaotao Tony Bi. Prof. Helen Burt, UBC Associate VP Research & Innovation; Ms. Fei Liu, Consul General of Consulate General of China in Vancouver; and Prof. James Olson, Dean of Faculty of Applied Science gave welcome speeches. Professors and researchers from UBC, University of Alberta, University of Saskatchewan, University of Science and Technology of China, Natural Resources Canada, and Chinese Academy of Sciences presented their current research projects. International Energy Agency, BC Bioenergy Network, and Highbury Energy Inc. also gave talks on missions and latest work.

C-CJCBERI has been growing in the past year and now has doubled the number of partner organizations and faculty members since its opening in 2015. It also has recently established an advisory committee in addition to a management committee. The committee members are from diverse sectors including research institutes, governments, and industry. During the discussion sessions, attendees reviewed the progress and opportunities to provide ideas and suggestions on the next steps for C-CJCBERI. Partner organizations from the two countries shared information on funding opportunities that are available for joint application. Those grants and funding can support fundamental research, demonstration and commercialization, and students and highly qualified personnel training. The Centre’s goals and activities also align with those of several local and international organizations and initiatives such as the Forest BioProducts Institute (FBP) at UBC and the Sustainable Biofuels Innovation Challenge & Biofuture Platform jointly initiated by multiple organizations across the world including CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada and Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion in China. C-CJCBERI can foresee more partnerships and development in the next year.

The 2018 C-CJCBERI Annual Workshop will be held in early May in Beijing.